Historic town to reap benefits of facade scheme

MOUNT Morgan's CBD will be given the spruce-up it so desperately deserves - but not without a hitch along the way.

Morgan St is lined door-to-door with historic buildings that illustrate the boom days of a prosperous mining town and now the town will reap the benefits from Rockhampton Regional Council's Facade Improvement Scheme.

No.7 Gallery owner Kirra Swain believed the construction of the footpath along Morgan St would be completed within the next few weeks.

Mount Morgan streetscape.Allan Reinikka ROK230218astreets

However she wasn't sure if the other side of Morgan St (in front of Mount Morgan Central State School) would be given the same attention.

"They laid dirt next to my gallery, which is to be fixed up,” she said.

"They've pinned up some awnings on a couple of shops.”

Heading down the hill to the bottom of Morgan St, it is evident there's more work to be done. Ladies from Mount Morgan Museum said attention was needed on their building, which was still in its original state.

While the concrete path is yet to be completed outside the structure, another issue has arisen on their doorstep that could delay its completion.

A volunteer told The Morning Bulletin stirrups needed to be placed on the posts at the front of the building.

"The bottom post (on the corner of Morgan and East Sts) has sunk as the area around it was dug up for a storm water drain,” she said.

SPRUCE UP: Morgan St from the air.Allan Reinikka ROK230218astreets

Now the next challenge for the museum is to find a builder who can complete this task, after the last contractor pulled out.

At the other end of Morgan St, NewsXpress Mount Morgan owner Kerrilyn Page said she was aware the Facade Improvement Scheme was "full steam ahead”.

"It is actually up to business owners to take the initiative though and work with council with a co-contribution towards cost,” she said.

She explained which issue had led them to make the decision not to participate.

"The main reason we haven't done anything is we have no capital left to spend on that, the loss in business due to the upgrades has left us totally skint,” she said.

Ms Page and fellow NewsXpress Mount Morgan owner Schae Page recently announced they placed their business on the market.

The council was approached for comment but did not provide a response by deadline.